Timeless Truths
July 30, 2022
Timeless Truths……..
“Sanaatan Dharma comprises those timeless truths which are rooted in eternity. They predate the forming of the world, and cannot be confined to any one earthly religion. Sanaatan Dharma embraces, indeed, all of manifested existence. Its manifestation in India is unlike other religions in that it was not a teaching by any one master, but expresses the essence of age old, revealed wisdom.
Christians consider themselves to posses the only divine revelation, which they name The Holy Bible. This belief shows a misunderstanding of the very word, “revelation.” The Bible, which is a mere statement, cannot convey the experience of truth, which alone is the real meaning of revelation.
Wisdom does not contradict itself. All great masters attain the same vision of truth: one and eternal, which we call God. Divine vision transcends sectarian differences; it is this direct vision of timeless truth which forms the basis of Sanaatan Dharma. That truth reminds man of who and what he is: a divine soul, forever and indestructible. The true purpose of scripture, then, is to show man how to find eternal freedom in God.
Jesus Christ said it for all truth seekers: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) Perfection is the goal of every true religion. Perfection is a state of existence , not of mere belief. The Bhagavad Gita, from this point of view, is a a revealed scripture, but it emphasises the need for inner revelation, without which no words can suffice to explain wisdom. Great masters in every religion, having perceived God (the supreme Being) directly, have emphasised again and again in every language that the Supreme Spirit is the essence of everything there is.
Many true masters have pointed out that there are countless paths to divine attainment. Indeed the paths may be described as numbering as many as there are human beings in this world. For everyone must begin his search for enlightenment from his own point of understanding, an understanding determined by his human characteristics, which the Bhagavad Gita expounds. Briefly they are devotion, right action, meditation and wisdom (or discrimination). The names of the great world religions - of which Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam are the main ones - can be misleading if they are not seen to express the spiritual “needs” of their times. Truth needs to be explained according to the understanding of the people for whom it is taught.”
…..”One extraordinary aspect of the Bhagavad Gita is its universality. Whatever the needs of any particular time or people, this great scripture addresses them all from the highest point of view.
In Hinduism as a whole, indeed, no aspect of the truth is rejected. The Hindu teachings emphasise the universal way of living for high spiritual attainment. The Hindu teachings concern themselves much less with beliefs than with practices. They portray the struggles common to each ego on its long upward journey from ignorance to the light of Self -realisation.
Thus, the teaching of the Gita is not specifically Hindu: It is all embracing. Not only is it completely non sectarian, but it shows people how even their worldly experiences can help them in the end, spiritually - perhaps after many lifetimes - by weaving the threads of diverse human experience into the vast tapestry that comprises the story of every souls journey to ultimate perfection in God.
For this journey contains innumerable twists and turns. There is but one guideline that can give it right direction: the polestar of ones own innate divinity. The Bhagavad Gita points in this universally true direction.”
Extracts from Chapter Two - What is Sanaatan Dharma
The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita
Paramhansa Yogananda
Beautiful.